Steven Gerrard says talk of philosophies such as Bielsaball are down to media narratives. The former Liverpool midfielder is enjoying success in his first managerial role, leading Rangers to the cusp of the Scottish Premiership title to break Celtic’s nine-year dominance of the top tier. He has been tipped as a potential candidate to replace Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United in the future and Gerrard is a big fan of the Argentine. Yet, when asked if he would model his own philosophy on Bielsaball or a different approach, Gerrard told the Daily Mail that discussions like that are due to media narratives rather than anything purposeful done by managers.
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Steven Gerrard said: “I don’t think you can nail yourself to one philosophy and say ‘this is the way I want to be’ or ‘this is what I want people to say about my teams from now to the end of my journey in coaching. I don’t know what roles I’m going to take during that journey. I am really happy and content in the role I am in now but I am at a club that demands success and entertaining football so you have to adapt and I have had to bring a philosophy here that I think will work for the Rangers supporters and will bring success. That means trying to be a really tough team to play against, an aggressive team in the right way, but also play football at the right times in the right areas of the pitch. That is what we have tried to do here. But I might take over a role where maybe you are not one of the favourites in the league and you have to adapt that philosophy. I don’t want to nail myself to one sentence that sums up my philosophy. When you talk about Sarri-ball and Bielsaball and Gegenpressing, those are media narratives about their identity. If I end up with an identity like that further on in my career, then great, but for me it’s about being able to adapt your philosophy for what’s in front of you.”
